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Written in their law - See on John 10:34; (note). These words are taken from Psalm 69:4. This psalm is applied to Christ, John 2:17; John 19:28; to the vengeance of God against Judea, Acts 1:20. The psalm seems entirely prophetic of Christ. His deep abasement is referred to, Psalm 69:2-5; his prayer for his disciples and followers, Psalm 69:6; that for himself, in the garden of Gethsemane, Psalm 69:15-19; his crucifixion, Psalm 69:20-22; the vengeance of God against the Jews, from Psalm 69:23-29; the glorious manner in which he gets out of all his sufferings, Psalm 69:30; the abolition of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies, Psalm 69:31, compared with Isaiah 66:3; and, finally, the establishment of the Gospel through the whole world, in Psalm 69:33; and following verses. The reader will do well to consult the psalm before he proceeds.

In their law - Psalm 35:19. All the Old Testament was sometimes called the law. The meaning here is that the same thing happened to him which did to the psalmist. The same words which David used respecting his enemies would express, also, the conduct of the Jews and their treatment of the Messiah. In both cases it was without cause. Jesus had broken no law, he had done no injury to his country or to any individual. It is still true that sinners hate him in the same way. He injures no one, but, amid all their hatred, he seeks their welfare; and, while they reject him in a manner for which they “can give no reason in the day of judgment,” he still follows them with mercies and entreats them to return to him. Who has ever had any reason to hate the Lord Jesus? What injury has he ever done to any one of the human race? What evil has he ever said or thought of any one of them? What cause or reason had the Jews for putting him to death? What reason has the sinner for hating him now? What reason for neglecting him? No one can give a reason for it that will satisfy his own conscience, none that has the least show of plausibility. Yet no being on earth has ever been more hated, despised, or neglected, and in every instance it has been “without a cause.” Reader, do you hate him? If so, I ask you why? Wherein has he injured you? or why should you think or speak reproachfully of the benevolent and pure Redeemer?

A Violation of the Sixth Commandment—All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life—the spirit of hatred and revenge, or the indulgence of any passion that leads to injurious acts toward others or causes us even to wish them harm (for “whoso hateth his brother is a murderer”)—are, to a greater or less degree, violations of the sixth commandment.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 308 (1890). 2MCP 527.1

Satan Inspires With His Own Energies of Hate—When Satan is permitted to mold the will, he uses it to accomplish his ends. He instigates theories of unbelief and stirs up the human heart to war against the Word of God. With persistent, persevering effort, he seeks to inspire men with his own energies of hate and antagonism to God and to array them in opposition to the institutions and requirements of heaven and the operations of the Holy Spirit. He enlists under his standard all evil agencies and brings them into the battlefield under his generalship to oppose evil against good.—The Review and Herald, February 10, 1903. (Messages to Young People, 54.) 2MCP 527.2

World Hated Christ Because He Was Different—The difference between the character of Christ and the character of other men of His day was everywhere apparent, and because of this difference the world hated Him. It hated Him for His goodness and His strict integrity. And Christ declared that those who manifest the same attributes would be likewise hated. As we near the end of time this hatred for the followers of Christ will be more and more manifest. 2MCP 527.3

Hatred Springs From Desire for Revenge—Satan contested every claim put forth by the Son of God and employed men as his agents to fill the Saviour's life with suffering and sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he had sought to hinder the work of Jesus, the hatred manifested through the children of disobedience, his cruel accusations against Him whose life was one of unexampled goodness, all sprang from deep-seated revenge. The pent-up fires of envy and malice, hatred and revenge, burst forth on Calvary against the Son of God, while all heaven gazed upon the scene in silent horror.—The Great Controversy, 501 (1888). 2MCP 528.1

Hatred Toward Parents (words to a young woman)—Especially have you a work to do to confess with humiliation your disrespectful course toward your parents. There is no reason for this unnatural manifestation toward them. It is purely a satanic spirit, and you have indulged in it because your mother has not sanctioned your course. Your feelings amount not only to positive dislike, decided disrespect, but to hatred, malice, envy, jealousy, which are manifested in your actions, causing them suffering and privation. You do not feel like making them happy, or even comfortable. Your feelings are changeable. Sometimes your heart softens, then it closes firmly as you see some fault in them, and the angels cannot impress it with one emotion of love. 2MCP 528.2

An evil demon controls you, and you are hateful and hating. God has marked your disrespectful words, your unkind acts to your parents, whom He has commanded you to honor, and if you fail to see this great sin and repent of it, you will grow darker until you will be left to your evil ways.—Testimonies for the Church 2:82, 83 (1868). 2MCP 528.3

There was never one who walked among men more cruelly slandered than the Son of man. He was derided and mocked because of His unswerving obedience to the principles of God's holy law. They hated Him without a cause. Yet He stood calmly before His enemies, declaring that reproach is a part of the Christian's legacy, counseling His followers how to meet the arrows of malice, bidding them not to faint under persecution. MB 32.1

While slander may blacken the reputation, it cannot stain the character. That is in God's keeping. So long as we do not consent to sin, there is no power, whether human or satanic, that can bring a stain upon the soul. A man whose heart is stayed upon God is just the same in the hour of his most afflicting trials and most discouraging surroundings as when he was in prosperity, when the light and favor of God seemed to be upon him. His words, his motives, his actions, may be misrepresented and falsified, but he does not mind it, because he has greater interests at stake. Like Moses, he endures as “seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27); looking “not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (2 Corinthians 4:18). MB 32.2

Christ is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misrepresented by men. His children can afford to wait in calm patience and trust, no matter how much maligned and despised; for nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest, and those who honor God shall be honored by Him in the presence of men and angels. MB 32.3

When Christ was upon this earth, the people flocked to hear Him. So simple and plain were His words that the most unlearned among the people could understand Him, and His hearers listened as if spellbound. This enraged the scribes and Pharisees. They were filled with envy because the people listened so attentively to the words of this new Teacher. They determined to break His hold upon the multitudes. They began by attacking His character, saying that He was born in sin, and that He cast out devils through the prince of the devils. Thus were fulfilled the words “They hated me without a cause” (John 15:25; cf. Psalm 69:4). The Jewish leaders maligned and persecuted the One who is chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely. UL 325.3